NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Office equipment for Kenya’s parliament donated by China has gone missing after being loaded onto a shipping container, authorities from both nations said on Thursday.



Like other African nations, Kenya has deepened ties with Beijing, receiving loans, investments and scholarships. But the container of equipment arrived empty this week at its National Assembly, China’s “shocked” embassy said in a statement.



Kenyan police have begun an investigation into the disappearance of the electronic equipment, whose value has not been given, and parliament officials declined to comment.



Kenya has been beset by widespread cases of corruption and theft over the years and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government had been trying to crack down on the problem.



Reporting by John Ndiso and Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

China’s donation of equipment to this East African country’s parliament goes missing

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There is just a week and a half more to go until the world’s largest gathering of world leaders takes place at the G- 20 summit in Osaka. However, the attention around the event will be focusing more on U.S president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping, as the pressure mounts on these two countries to end the trade war. According to latest reports, the tension for US car companies in China have seen car sales drop for the first time since 1990. Ryan Patel, A Global Business Executive and Senior Fellow at Drucker School of Management joins CNBC Africa for more.

The cost of the US-China trade war on Africa

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Announced in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the Belt road initiative is a double trade corridor set to reopen channels between China and its neighbours in the West, Asia, the Middle East and Europe alongside Africa with over $800 billion committed in financing. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Segawa who spoke to Lin Songtian, China Ambassador to South Africa.

SA, China partnership growing African economies

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China has defended its multi-billion dollar investments and loans to Africa, with President Xi Jinping saying there are no strings attached. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke at the China-Africa Cooperation conference and touched on the necessary tangible implementation of China-Africa partnership policies.

Cyril Ramaphosa applauds China on delivering on its funding promise

BEIJING (Reuters) &#8211; Chinese President Xi Jinping offered another $60 billion in financing for Africa on Monday and said Chinese companies will be encouraged to invest no less than $10 billion over the next three years, but he also warned against “vanity projects”.
Speaking at the opening of a major summit with African leaders, Xi promised development that people on the continent could see and touch, but that would also be green and sustainable.
China has denied engaging in “debt trap” diplomacy, and Xi’s offer of more money comes after a pledge of another $60 billion at the previous summit in South Africa three years ago.
Xi, addressing leaders at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, said the new $60 billion will include $15 billion of aid, interest-free loans and concessional loans, a credit line of $20 billion, a $10 billion special fund for China-Africa development, and a $5 billion special fund for imports from Africa.
Chinese companies will be encouraged to invest no less than $10 billion in the continent in the next three years, he said.
“China-Africa cooperation must give Chinese and African people tangible benefits and successes that can be seen, that can be felt,” Xi said.
Chinese officials have vowed to be more cautious to ensure projects are sustainable. China defends continued lending to Africa on the grounds that the continent still needs debt-funded infrastructure development.
Speaking earlier at a business forum, Xi said China had to be careful about where money was spent.
“China’s cooperation with Africa is clearly targeted at the major bottlenecks to development. Resources for our cooperation are not to be spent on any vanity projects but in places where they count the most,” he said.
Beijing has also fended off criticism it is only interested in resource extraction to feed its own booming economy, that the projects it funds have poor environmental safeguards, and that too many of the workers for them are flown in from China rather than using African labour.
Xi told business leaders Chinese firms in Africa had to be aware of their social responsibilities and make sure their investments served the community and improved their wellbeing.
“I hope that our entrepreneurs will act to fulfil social responsibilities and respect local culture and tradition,” he said.
“I also hope you will do more in staff training and bettering lives for the local people and will put more emphasis on the environment and resources,” Xi said.
‘AFRICA KNOWS BEST’ 
Chinese officials say this year’s summit will strengthen Africa’s role in Xi’s Belt and Road initiative to link China by sea and land with Southeast and Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa through an infrastructure network modelled on the old Silk Road.
Xi said the plan, for which Beijing has pledged $126 billion, would help provide more resources and facilities for Africa and would expand shared markets.
China loaned around $125 billion to the continent from 2000 to 2016, data from the China-Africa Research Initiative at Washington’s Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies shows.
State media has accused the West of sour grapes over China’s prominent role in Africa and has angrily rejected claims of forcing African countries into a debt trap.
“In terms of cooperation with China, African countries know best,” widely read tabloid the Global Times wrote in an editorial on Monday.
“Western media deliberately portray Africans in misery for collaborating with China and they appear to have discovered big news by finding occasional complaints in the African media about Sino-Africa cooperation,” it said.
Every African country is represented at the business forum apart from eSwatini, self-ruled Taiwan’s last African ally that has so far rejected China’s overtures to ditch Taipei and recognise Beijing.
African presidents in attendance include South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Zambia’s Edgar Lungu and Gabon’s Ali Bongo.
There are some controversial guests. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, who has been in power for nearly 30 years, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes over killings and persecution in Sudan’s Darfur province between 2003 and 2008.
Xi told him on Sunday that “foreign forces” should not interfere in Sudan’s internal affairs, China’s Foreign Ministry said. China is not a party to the court.
“China has always had reservations about the International Criminal Court’s indictment and arrest order against Sudan’s president. We hope the ICC can prudently handle the relevant issue,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Christian Shepherd; Additional reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Paul Tait and Darren Schuettler

What you need to know about China’s $60 billion offer to Africa

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It&#8217;s believed that for the foreseeable future, Africa’s engagement with China will be shaped by Xi’s vision making it important to unpack exactly what that vision is. Joining CNBC Africa for more on this is Afshin Molavi, Co-Founder emerge85 Lab.

Will the future of Africa be shaped by Xi Jinping’s vision?

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Reuters) &#8211; Chinese investors signed agreements to build a $10 billion metallurgical complex in South Africa during President Xi Jinping’s state visit this week and hope to start construction next year, an executive involved in the project and a provincial official told Reuters.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a joint news conference with Xi on Tuesday that China had committed to invest $14.7 billion in the South African economy, but neither leader mentioned the $10 billion complex.
Ramaphosa is on a mission to kick-start economic growth after a decade of stagnation and is targeting $100 billion in new investment over five years.
The complex, which is still in the planning stage and envisages building a stainless steel plant, a ferrochrome plant and a silicomanganese plant, is a much-needed vote of confidence in the sputtering South African economy.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on Tuesday that China was considering a metallurgical project in a special economic zone (SEZ), but he did not reveal the scale of the project or timeframe.
The executive involved in the project, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said memoranda on the complex were signed before Xi and Ramaphosa gave news conference on Tuesday.
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Richard Zitha, a project executive at the Musina-Makhado SEZ where the complex will be based, said the project was being led by Chinese state-owned companies, but he declined to name them.
He said the Chinese investors would look for Black Economic Empowerment partners to comply with South African rules designed to address racial disparities more than two decades after the end of apartheid.
The investors were open to investors from other countries joining at a later stage, he said.
“The investors have been in South Africa for around a week and have visited mines to look for inputs for the project,” Zitha said.
The Musina-Makhado SEZ is in Limpopo province close to South Africa’s borders with Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
The SEZ plans to house plants with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum of stainless steel, 3 million tonnes per annum of ferrochrome and 500,000 tonnes per annum of silicomanganese. Those capacity targets are subject to change and will be finalised by the end of the year, the executive said.
A coal-fired power plant, coking plant and coal washery will be built alongside the metallurgical plants, a presentation prepared for investors showed.
Some of the steel output for the complex has been earmarked for export to China, while other products would be sold to countries in southern Africa, the executive said.
South Africa is already a major exporter of metal alloys to China.
Investors are hoping to receive the necessary environmental approvals by the end of March and would then start construction, Zitha said.
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Editing by James Macharia and Jason Neely
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Chinese investors plan $10bn metallurgical complex for SA

PRETORIA (Reuters) &#8211; China would invest $14.7 billion in South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday after talks between the two countries, news that sent the rand one percent firmer.
Speaking at the same event, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the world’s second-biggest economy would take active measures to expand imports from South Africa to support development in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
Ramaphosa, who has promised to revive the economy since becoming president in February and after winning the leadership of the ruling African National Congress last year, said “Xi has indicated that China is ready to invest and work with South Africa in various sectors.”
The rand firmed after Ramaphosa’s announcement, spurred by offshore demand for the currency, traders said.
South Africa’s struggling state-run power firm Eskom, which swung to a full year loss on Monday, received a $2.5 billion loan from the China Development Bank.
Ramaphosa has focused on revitalising Eskom, Africa’s largest public utility, which was embroiled in corruption scandals under former president Jacob Zuma and narrowly avoided a liquidity crunch early this year after banks halted lending. Zuma has denied wrongdoing.
South Africa’s logistics utility Transnet also received a cash injection, as well as other sectors of the economy, officials said.
Xi said China and South Africa were important emerging economies with similar perspectives on many global issues.
“Hence the need to strengthen cooperation,” Xi said.
Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by James Macharia

China plans to invest $14.7 billion in South Africa, what you need to know

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has concluded his two-day state visit to Rwanda, a visit that saw 15 agreements between the two countries signed. Indian PM Narendra is also in the country as the both nations seek to strengthen bilateral ties.

Rwanda signs 22 bilateral pacts with India and China

This week a handful of the most powerful people on the planet will tread the pavement in Africa’s richest square mile to plot the way forward for the emerging economies of the southern hemisphere.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin, India’s Narendra Modi, Brazil’s Michel Temer and China’s Xi Jinping lead a group of presidents to the BRICS conference at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on July 25,26 and 27. These are the strident leaders of the emerging economies armed with aggressive, long term, foreign economic policy, rich in resources and determined to see a shift of world power south from the northern hemisphere.
South Africa, which joined the south-to-south political and economic cooperation group in 2011, is chairing the group this year and has high hopes for it.
South Africa is very much the junior partner in the BRICS group that did R462 billion ($34 billion) in trade among themselves, in 2017, and garnered more than R554 trillion in foreign direct investments. In 2015, India gathered 38.9% of world foreign direct investment, Russia 26.1% while South Africa managed a mere 0.8%.
Yet South Africa will be hoping to use the gravitas of the organisation to help funnel investment in from Russia to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in search of fulfilling President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledge of $100 billion in foreign investment.
South Africa plans to lead the way in talks over manufacturing, minerals process, science and technology. Tourism is also likely to be a topic for South African government officials with the country hosting around 200,000 tourists a year from BRICS countries, as will the fourth industrial revolution and peacekeeping.
“I think we may see a few infrastructure deals and trade agreements, especially with Russia, as South Africa tries to achieve Cyril Ramaphosa’s $100 billion foreign investment pledge,” says George Glynos, of ETM analysts.
“There will be a good deal of sharing of ideas and technology transfer, but I don’t think we will see too much concrete emerging from this conference,” says Azar Jammine, of Econometrix.
On the political front the big expected meeting will be between Putin and Xi Jinping to discuss the fall out of US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
President Modi plans to make a dash across the African continent to arrive in time for proceedings on Wednesday. At 9 am CAT the Indian premier will address the Parliament of Uganda, in Kampala, an address that will be carried live across the continent by CNBC Africa.

BRICS in Africa, what you need to know

Justina Crabtree
Source: <a href="http://https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/25/africa-needs-to-know-what-it-wants-from-china-expert-says.html">Africa needs to know what it wants from China, expert says. Here are two key issues</a>
<ul>
<li>China has poured billions of dollars into Africa&#8217;s development, but an expert CNBC spoke to said that the continent&#8217;s countries needed a two-pronged approach to properly benefit.</li>
<li>&#8220;Most African countries don&#8217;t have a strategy vis-a-vis China,&#8221; Ibrahima Diong, Senegal-born former regional co-ordinator for Africa at the World Bank, told CNBC.</li>
<li>The seventh meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is scheduled for this September in Beijing.</li>
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/04/25/105157701-GettyImages-528124902.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Per-Anders Pettersson | Corbis News | Getty Images"/>
China has poured tens of billions of dollars into Africa&#8217;s development, but the continent&#8217;s countries need a better strategy in order to properly reap the benefits, according to an expert.
&#8220;China knows what it wants from Africa,&#8221; Ibrahima Diong, Senegal-born former regional co-ordinator for Africa at the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/10000939?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="> 
World Bank 
</a>, told CNBC on Friday.
&#8220;But, most African countries don&#8217;t have a strategy vis-a-vis China.&#8221;
For Diong, who has served as a China adviser to the Senegalese president and is currently chief executive of consulting firm Africa Consulting &amp; Trading Afrique Group, African countries need to adopt a two-pronged approach to managing China funded-development.
African nations must make sure that such projects &#8220;will actually boost economic growth on the continent,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;If you have energy problems, infrastructure, railways, and yet you go to China to get money to build a stadium — I&#8217;m not saying it&#8217;s not important — or to build a palace, the question is: who do you blame, the Chinese or actually the country that does not make sure that the support of the investment goes to areas that are actually being productive to the economy?&#8221;
The second stumbling block for African countries to address is negotiation, Diong said. &#8220;They have to make sure that they&#8217;re actually protecting their interests.&#8221; Strength comes from African unity, and the collective understanding that, &#8220;We are a sizeable market, how do we make sure that we negotiate with China?&#8221; he added.
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China is known for building infrastructure projects in Africa as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar plan to resurrect ancient trading routes centred on China. The African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is also Chinese built.
But, the Asian superpower has been accused of not hiring enough local African labor, or else exploiting those that they do, for example by paying too-low wages or not providing favorable working conditions.
The seventh meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is scheduled for this September in Beijing. The first took place in 2000. The last summit in 2015 resulted in Chinese President Xi Jinping pledging $60 billion to industrialize the African continent.
African countries&#8217; policy on China should be better integrated into governments, Diong said. &#8220;Most of the African countries should have at least a China desk — or a China ministry,&#8221; he said, adding that regional bodies such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also needed to &#8220;help their member countries to get their strategy right.&#8221;
Development in Africa needs to &#8220;leave something behind so we don&#8217;t have to depend on the Chinese over and over again,&#8221; Diong said. &#8220;That&#8217;s really a matter for the Africans themselves, getting better organized.&#8221;
Diong said that Africa needed to hold China &#8220;accountable,&#8221; and ensure that financing was directed into sectors that would be most economically beneficial, such as energy and infrastructure.
The issue is about &#8220;knowing what you want, knowing how you get it,&#8221; he added.

Africa needs to know what it wants from China, expert says. Here are two key issues

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cobus-van-staden-427271">Cobus van Staden</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/south-african-institute-of-international-affairs-1795">South African Institute of International Affairs</a>
China’s decision to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-11/china-ties-future-to-xi-as-congress-scraps-president-term-limits">suspend presidential term limits</a> is still reverberating around the world. The announcement, made after a vote by China’s parliament in March, prompted some commentators to draw comparisons with “<a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/axing-term-limits-china-boon-africas-would-be-despots">third termism</a>” in Africa, when leaders flout democratic conventions to stay in power as long as possible.
These concerns certainly resonate on a continent where leaders like Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Yoweri Museveni of Uganda are clinging to power. But there is also a wider question that must be asked: what does an extended tenure for Chinese incumbent Xi Jinping mean for Africa beyond the constitutional issue of term limits?
For the foreseeable future, Africa’s engagement with China will be shaped by Xi’s vision. This makes it important to unpack exactly what that vision is. That’s why the South African Institute of International Affairs – where I work and conduct research on China and Africa – has just published <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/policy-briefings/china-era-xi-jinping-thought">a policy paper</a> identifying five key trends for Africa.
We did this by drawing on Xi’s own writings and public comments. The trends will open certain opportunities for Africa in its relationship with China, and close down others. It is important for the continent to take note of these trends because Xi’s extended tenure will arguably deepen their impact over the next decade.
<h2>1. Communist Party centrality</h2>
Dealing with China means dealing with the Communist Party of China (CPC). Xi rose to power by strengthening his control of the party and its control of the country. Throughout his writings he has emphasised that the CPC is key to Chinese decision-making from the local to the international level.
Part of the CPC’s strategy is to influence young Africans through education and training. To this end, thousands of African government officials, journalists and students receive training in China annually. In 2016, Beijing <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2016/07/05/political-party-training-chinas-ideological-push-in-africa">increased the number of scholarships</a> for African junior politicians from 200 to 1000 per year.
More African students now study in China than in the <a href="https://qz.com/1017926/china-has-overtaken-the-us-and-uk-as-the-top-destination-for-anglophone-african-students/">US and the UK combined</a>. Xi routinely insists on the centrality of party doctrine in all university teaching. Since 2013 he has called for <a href="http://www.chinafile.com/document-9-chinafile-translation">the exclusion of so-called western ideas</a> from university curricula. Education and training shapes one’s worldview. As these African students return home, then, Communist Party doctrine will increasingly inform conversations on the continent.
<h2>2. The Belt and Road Initiative</h2>
President Xi’s long-term rule also ensures the future of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-africa-fits-into-chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative-78016">Belt and Road Initiative</a>. It is his signature foreign policy and investment initiative; a massive infrastructure project linking China overland to Europe via rail through Central Asia, and through sea routes to the Mediterranean and Europe via East Africa. It is already <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201803050166.html">funnelling large amounts of funding</a> to infrastructure projects in countries like Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Now that Xi has tightened his grip on power this initiative – which has been <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-10/24/c_136702025.htm">enshrined</a> in the CPC constitution – is here to stay.
This opens significant opportunities for African development. However, infrastructure doesn’t come for free: African countries should take a hard look at how the initiative will affect the continent’s debt sustainability and local priorities.
<h2>3. UN reform</h2>
China has been <a href="http://www.china.org.cn/english/international/131439.htm">a long-term supporter of reforming</a> the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to allow wider representation from the global south. Beijing has not forgotten that it gained its own UNSC seat partly through African countries’ votes. In his address at the 19th Party Congress, <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/download/Xi_Jinping's_report_at_19th_CPC_National_Congress.pdf">Xi voiced support for</a> “the efforts of other developing countries to increase their representation”.
In theory, this could initiate a discussion about Security Council reform. There is little further indication that China is actively campaigning for it, but it is an area to watch.
<h2>4. Global military role</h2>
President Xi has repeatedly called for China’s military hardware, and the Chinese army’s combat-readiness <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/04/xi-jinping-tells-army-not-to-fear-death-in-show-of-chinas-military-might">to be boosted</a>. His extended term raises the possibility that the People’s Liberation Army will pursue a more prominent global role.
<a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-raises-2018-defence-spending-by-81-per-cent">Military budgets for 2018</a> have been raised by 8.1%, a three-year high. While China is still far behind the United States in total military spending, it is catching up.
This expansion directly affects Africa. China’s first overseas military base recently became operational in Djibouti, despite <a href="https://qz.com/1226148/rex-tillerson-in-africa-chinas-increasing-footprint-in-djibouti-worries-us-camp-lemonnier/">complaints from the United States</a>, whose Camp Lemonnier is mere kilometres away. <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201702160232.html">Djibouti also hosts</a> French, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and German bases, and a Saudi base is under construction.
China has become <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2120754/chinese-troops-two-day-drill-prepare-peacekeeping">more involved in UN peacekeeping in Africa</a>. Its troops serve in South Sudan, Mali and Liberia, as well as in anti-piracy initiatives off Somalia. While these missions have contributed to African security, they also help to strengthen China’s profile as a global leader and to give Chinese troops valuable real-world combat training. This raises questions for Africa about an increasing Chinese military presence on the continent.
<h2>5. Internet governance</h2>
Xi’s first term has seen a significant tightening of China’s own internet regulations. The US NGO Freedom House now lists China’s internet as the <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/china">world’s most constrained</a>. Xi has called for further controls and for enhanced “internet sovereignty”: this shuns global internet governance conventions in favour of control by national governments.
There is little evidence that China is interested in exporting its internet governance to other countries. But some fear that <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/1292-balancing-cyber-security-and-internet-freedom-in-africa/file">repressive African governments will</a> seize on the theme of internet sovereignty to crack down on internal dissent.
<h2>Planning ahead</h2>
China is Africa’s top trade partner and a key foreign investor. Africa needs more local experts fluent in Mandarin, who can provide insights into the inner workings of this rising superpower.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94602/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />Barring unexpected upheavals, Xi Jinping is set to govern for a long time. Africa had better plan accordingly.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cobus-van-staden-427271">Cobus van Staden</a>, Senior Researcher: China Africa, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/south-african-institute-of-international-affairs-1795">South African Institute of International Affairs</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-chinas-president-xis-extended-tenure-means-for-africa-94602">original article</a>.

What China’s President Xi’s extended tenure means for Africa

Justina Crabtree
Source: <a href="http://https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/09/zimbabwe-us-could-lift-sanctions-if-mnangagwa-holds-fair-elections.html">The US could lift sanctions on Zimbabwe — but only if the new president holds fair elections</a>
<ul>
<li>U.S. Senators Christopher Coons and Jeff Flake met with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare over the weekend to &#8220;explore ways of strengthening the bilateral relationship,&#8221; according to the U.S. embassy in Zimbabwe.</li>
<li>Coons and Flake are behind a proposed amendment to the U.S.&#8217; Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act which outlines the steps the African country must fulfill for U.S.-imposed sanctions to be lifted, namely the holding of &#8220;free and fair&#8221; elections.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/03/19/105073957-GettyImages-878420096.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Wilfred Kajese | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images"/>
Two U.S. senators have met with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa as part of an exploratory trip which could lead to the U.S. lifting sanctions on the once-pariah African state.
U.S. Senators Christopher Coons and Jeff Flake&#8217;s visit to the Zimbabwean capital of Harare over the weekend was to &#8220;explore ways of strengthening the bilateral relationship,&#8221; said a tweet by the U.S. embassy there. The two politicians met with the new president, as well as members of the opposition and civil society.
Coons and Flake, both on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, are behind a proposed amendment to the U.S.&#8217; Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA). The bill details the steps which Zimbabwe must take for U.S. sanctions to be lifted, namely the holding of free and fair elections.
&#8220;The president (Mnangagwa) has made a commitment to take action, but some of the important actions required for progress towards the conditions for free and fair and credible elections have not yet happened,&#8221; Coons told the media, <a href="http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/main/trump-opens-window-for-mnangagwa/">as reported by the Zimbabwe Mail</a>.
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Mnangagwa has said that he is committed to holding open elections in July of this year and has invited external observers to the expected event.
It is hoped that such elections could lead to the removal of U.S.-imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, which has seen its economy crippled by decades of mismanagement under former President Robert Mugabe.
But, &#8220;Lifting U.S. sanctions is time consuming and not straightforward,&#8221; Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at think tank Chatham House, told CNBC via e-mail. &#8220;The easiest way would be for the Zimbabwean government to prove that it&#8217;s fulfilled the requirements of ZDERA.&#8221;
Nonetheless, Coons and Flake&#8217;s visit could symbolize the latest in a warming of relations between the U.S. and Zimbabwe. In March, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/11/opinion/zimbabwe-emmerson-mnangagwa.html">Mnangagwa penned a column in the New York Times</a> which highlighted Zimbabwe&#8217;s newfound openness.
In February this year, U.S. chain Pizza Hut opened its first branch in Harare. The move, according to the <a href="https://zw.usembassy.gov/american-franchise-pizza-hut-opens-zimbabwe/">U.S. embassy&#8217;s website</a>, &#8220;is a demonstration that American companies see attractive business prospects in Zimbabwe.&#8221;
&#8220;We would hope to expand the people to people relationships, relationships between companies, hospitals, researchers, but also much more investment from the United States to reviving the economy to rebuilding infrastructure and advancing the country,&#8221; Coons <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2018/04/us-sets-terms-to-revive-zim-business-ties/">told Zimbabwean news outlet NewsDay</a>.
The U.S. has imposed financial sanctions on Zimbabwe since 2001, in response to human rights abuses by Mugabe. The sanctions include financial and travel restrictions, as well as banning the transfer of defense items or services.
Last week <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105105579?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="> 
Mnangagwa was in China 
</a> on a five-day state visit, his first outside of Africa since coming to power in November last year. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://media.cnbc.com/i/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2018/04/03/105105670-GettyImages-941280668.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images"/>
&#8220;The new president (of Zimbabwe) can expect to get both financial aid, more help with infrastructure (including the expansion of Harare airport) and technological assistance, as well as Chinese participation in agricultural projects,&#8221; Jonathan Fenby, China chairman at research firm TS Lombard, told CNBC last week of the visit.
In what could signify further rapprochement with the West, it has been reported that Zimbabwe is in talks to re-join the Commonwealth, a 53-nation bloc consisting of the U.K. and its former colonial territories. But, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC on Friday that the organization has not received a formal application from Zimbabwe to do so.
Mugabe withdrew Zimbabwe from the group in 2003 following a dispute over sanctions.
Zimbabwe is a former British colony, previously known as Rhodesia, and was declared independent in 1980.

The US could lift sanctions on Zimbabwe — but only if the new president holds fair elections

BEIJING (Reuters) &#8211; Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday told President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe that they should work towards a new chapter in ties, during the African leader’s first state visit to China since he seized power last year.
Mnangagwa, who was sworn in as president in November after a de facto military coup ended Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule, has vowed to rebuild his country’s ravaged economy and re-engage with the international community.
China had considered Mugabe a “good friend” in a relationship dating back to its support for Zimbabwe’s independence war, but pointedly failed to support him when he was ousted.
“I’m willing to work with Mr President to jointly map out our future cooperation and write a new chapter in China-Zimbabwe relations for the benefit of our two peoples,” Xi said, during a meeting in Beijing.
China has growing interest in investing in Africa’s natural resources and has poured more than $100 billion into roads, railways, mines, powerlines and factories on the continent over the last decade.
Trade between China and African countries reached $85.3 billion in the first half of 2017, according to Chinese state media.
Xi said China has been happy to see the economic reform policies that Mnangagwa put in place after the “peaceful, smooth” transfer of power.
Mnangagwa said that Zimbabwe appreciated China’s political support and goodwill and thanked Xi for sending an envoy immediately upon his inauguration.
“That was a great honour,” he said.
China continued to invest in large infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe throughout Mugabe’s rule as his government, sanctioned by Western nations for human rights abuses, increasingly turned to Beijing for help.
With his visit, Zimbabwe would attempt to tap China’s huge financial resources, technical expertise and modern technology in order to help revive the economy, Mnangagwa told the official Xinhua news agency in an interview on Saturday.
In December, Zimbabwe signed a $153 million loan agreement with China to expand and refurbish its international airport in Harare in a bid to attract investors and tourists, the first such deal under the new government.
China’s foreign ministry said a trip to Beijing by Zimbabwe’s military chief one week before the army seized power in the South African nation was a “normal military exchange” amid speculation at the time he had come to brief on plans to seize power.
Mnangagwa is likely to join other African leaders coming to Beijing in September for a summit held once every three years.
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Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Robert Birsel
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Mnangagwa has first state visit to China since taking office this is what was discussed…

David E Kiwuwa|Princeton University
The recent sitting of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) rolled out a big surprise development: a proposed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/27/ensuring-happier-lives-chinese-media-defends-move-to-make-xi-jinping-all-powerful?CMP=share_btn_link">removal of presidential term limits</a>. This came among a <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-02/25/c_136999410.htm">raft of other constitutional amendments</a>.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-43742 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/china_president_xi.jpg" alt="China's Xi arrives in South Africa for talks with Zuma" width="600" height="400" />
The two-term limit had been instituted in 1982 by Deng Xiaoping after his experience with the chaotic post-Mao succession. Term limits were instituted to facilitate orderly succession and to support China’s reform era.
China’s economic transformation wasn’t to be disrupted or sidetracked by unnecessary political struggles and uncertainty. Consequently, successive communist leaders have abided by this limitation. And it has ushered in relatively smooth and carefully choreographed changes of leadership.
The broader implication of this announcement, critics fear, might be that it signals to African authoritarians to strengthen their grasp on executive office and push back on the need for leadership alternation.
In fact observers are already pointing to the increasing allure of the China model as a basis for African economic and political development.
In Africa, term limits have acted as a democratic safety net for the untamed African presidency, and their removal has often been counterproductive. Their removal in Beijing might have the unintended knock-on effect of weakening faltering democracies on the African continent.
<h2>The era of Xi Jinping</h2>
President Xi Jinping’s tenure has been like no other in China’s recent history. Arguably the most transformative leader since Mao Zedong, he has gone on to cement an indelible mark on the system that paved his way to the top.
As the President of the People’s Republic, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and general secretary of the CCP, he has consolidated his core leadership. He has also had his personal political doctrine; Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era written into the constitution.
While at it, he tore up the rule book by purging the highest party echelons of corrupt officials both big and small. Or in his words “tigers and flies”.
Xi has also pivoted China to the centre of the world stage. He has midwifed an assertive and confident China that is no longer subservient to the West.
Some might even call him a progressive. And this is why the CCP’s 
proposal to remove China’s presidential term limits could be construed as surprising.
To the keen observer, however, this latest development isn’t as surprising as it seems. This is because there was a notable absence of primed successors in China’s new Standing Committee of the Politburo historically an avenue from which incoming leadership is always chosen. The five existing members all 60 years and above are presumed too old to be considered for president at the 20th congress in 2022.
So for the moment, once the constitutional changes are approved, President Xi Jinping will stay put.
But what impact will this have beyond China?
<h2>Relations between Africa and China</h2>
African countries are often castigated for their poor leadership record, long term presidencies and atrocious human rights record. Yet in dealing with African states, China professes a doctrine of non-interference in the internal matters of national governments.
The implication has been that China is willing to do business with African leaders irrespective of their political realities.
As a result China’s relations with countries such as Zimbabwe, Sudan, Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda &#8211; to mention a few &#8211; have been buoyed by billions of dollars of investment. In return, China expects Africa’s political support and steady access to the continent’s raw materials. This according to Beijing is a win-win mutual relationship.
With the removal of China’s presidential term limits adds a new dimension to the relationship: African presidents now have a political godfather whose political practice they can claim to emulate. Or at the very least to validate their continued stay in office.
Claims that removing term limits will ensure that Chinese live happier lives, rejuvenate economic and political growth, and fulfil the will of the people mirrors the rhetoric in countries like Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Congo, and Gabon to mention but a few.
China has fast become Africa’s development partner of choice and now the country and the continent are on the same political wavelength.
To be fair, however, while Xi Jinping has superintended over phenomenal social and economic transformation over the past few years (he has been in power since 2012), not much can be said of his African counterparts. While he has aggressively and persistently purged corrupt officials his counterparts continued to indulge in unabated state looting and profligacy.
<h2>Unwelcome gift</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92746/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />While ending term limits might be good for China, it is an unwelcome gift for African despots who can now point to China as justification for their authoritarian tendencies. China might profess a non-interference policy, and claim to tailor its engagements on a country by country basis, but it will remain a model for many African governance whether it likes it or not. And therein lies the irony of global leadership for with power comes responsibility.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Why China’s removal of term limits is a gift to African despots

BEIJING (Reuters) &#8211; Foreign ministers from BRICS nations called for the use of &#8220;preventative diplomacy&#8221; to tackle the situation on the Korean Peninsula, according to a communique on Monday.
The ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met in Beijing for a two-day conference that ended on Monday. BRICS leaders will meet in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen in September.
&#8220;The foreign ministers support the use of political and diplomatic means to resolve disputes in Libya and on the Korean Peninsula, and the promotion of preventative diplomacy built on common consensus,&#8221; the communique said, according to a version posted on the Chinese foreign ministry website.
The document also condemned unilateral military interventions and economic sanctions that violate international law or internationally accepted norms.
Addressing the ministers after the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that BRICS cooperation was entering a &#8220;golden decade&#8221;.
&#8220;At present the international situation has complexities and also factors of instability and it is right for the BRICS to speak their voice,&#8221; he said.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated over North Korea&#8217;s nuclear and missile tests and its vow to develop a nuclear-tipped weapon capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. The United States has called for greater action from China to pressure Pyongyang into abandoning its weapons programmes.
China has said repeatedly that it adheres to United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea but does not support unilateral sanctions, instead calling for restraint and diplomacy.
China&#8217;s top diplomat Yang Jiechi is due to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington on Wednesday in talks that the United States says will focus on curbing North Korea&#8217;s nuclear and missile programmes.
Last week, Tillerson said Washington was considering imposing &#8220;secondary sanctions&#8221; on foreign firms doing business with North Korea and had been in discussions with Beijing about the activities of entities inside China.
Libya fell into turmoil following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and now an array of armed groups and competing governments are vying for control.
(Reporting by Christian Shepherd: Editing by Neil Fullick)

BRICS foreign ministers call for diplomacy to tackle Korean tensions

BEIJING, May 11 (Reuters) &#8211; China&#8217;s trade with African countries rose nearly one-fifth in the first quarter from a year earlier, while its direct investment in the continent soared 64 percent, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.
Trade cooperation between China and Africa is &#8220;off to a flying start&#8221; in 2017, thanks to policy benefits from a cooperative framework laid down by the Chinese and African leaders in South Africa in 2015, said Sun Jiwen, spokesman at the ministry.
China has a relationship with Africa which pre-dates its current resource-hungry economic boom. In previous decades, China&#8217;s Communist leaders supported national liberation movements and newly independent states across the continent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to plough $60 billion into African development projects at a summit in Johannesburg in 2015, saying it would boost agriculture, build roads, ports and railways and cancel some debt.
China&#8217;s total trade with Africa rose 16.8 percent to $38.8 billion in the first quarter, its first quarterly increase on a yearly basis since 2015, Sun said during a regular news briefing in Beijing.
That&#8217;s mainly thanks to a 46 percent year-on-year jump in imports from Africa in the first quarter with agricultural imports rising 18 percent, while Chinese exports recorded a smaller fall of 1 percent from a year earlier, Sun said.
China&#8217;s non-financial direct investment to the continent also jumped 64 percent in the quarter, as countries such as Djibouti, Senegal and South Africa all saw a more than 100 percent rise in the quarter.
China&#8217;s growing investment in the region is also likely to have been buoyed by its ambitious global trading strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative, which appeared to be gaining traction recently, particularly in parts of East Africa where major infrastructure and defence projects are being built.
China&#8217;s trade relations with African countries are often dominated by big natural resource deals, triggering criticism from some quarters that China is only interested in the continent&#8217;s mineral and energy wealth. 
Africans broadly see China as a healthy counterbalance to Western influence but, as ties mature, there are growing calls from policymakers and economists for more balanced trade relations. (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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